


This Is the Way

by FantasticWinter



Series: Light Finds a Way [1]
Category: Star Wars: Jedi: Fallen Order (Video Game), The Mandalorian (TV)
Genre: Gen, Rescue, Weakened character, being held prisoner, blood being drawn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-09
Updated: 2021-01-09
Packaged: 2021-03-13 09:02:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,533
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28650960
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FantasticWinter/pseuds/FantasticWinter
Summary: A Jedi is being held prisoner on Nevarro and Din must rescue him.
Relationships: Din Djarin & Cal Kestis, Din Djarin & Grogu
Series: Light Finds a Way [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2099673
Comments: 5
Kudos: 117





	This Is the Way

When Din landed the Razor Crest on Nevarro he saw both Cara and Karga waiting, looking up at the descending gunship. He’d heard Cara had settled down on the planet and Din was glad, she fit in well and she’d help keep Karga from doing anything stupid - - or more rather they’d keep each other from doing anything stupid. 

The Razor Crest landed with a hard, near crash, kicking up dirt as it did so and causing Karga’s robes to swirl around his body as well. It felt good to be back, Nevarro wasn’t _home_ per say but it was the closest Din could have to calling somewhere home.

Turning in his chair, Din paused at the sight of the child. “Hey, kid,” a little trill escaped the boy once he realized that he was being spoken to. “Let’s go meet up with Cara and Karga. Gotta get the ship all fixed up before we can go pick it back up.” Din carefully scooped up the child and made his way out of the Razor Crest, surprised the ramp was actually able to lower with the condition it was in. It creaked and whined the entire way down but all that mattered was that they’d made it to Nevarro and his ship would be back in working order in no time.

“Have a run in with the Empire?” Cara asked, frowning as she took in the overall condition of the Crest. Her dark eyes narrowed a bit at the sight of what appeared to be a large spider’s leg sticking out of one of the panels.

“Try hundreds of large spiders,” Din replied, stopping in front of his two friends.

“We’ll get our best men on it!” Karga promised, gesturing to some technicians standing by, “I want that ship good as new - - _better_ than new, actually!” He was answered by a chorus of “ _yes,sir!_ ” As the group hurried towards the sparking, lopsided ship.

Karga eyes shifted when the child cooed and lifted his arms up in his direction. Din easily released the boy into Karga’s arms and the older man lifted him up in the air. “Giant spiders?” Karga shot a look at Din and then returned his gaze to the wiggling boy in his arms, “Is he taking care of you? He better be!” Karga turned on his heel and started walking into town.

Cara and Din fell into step behind him. Din took in the town, clearer and far less . . . rambunctious than the last time he’d been here - - when the Empire had control. “You’ve done well with the town, Cara.” Din praised. 

The Alderaanian smirked a bit and nodded, “Karga and I have tried our best to keep it going. It’s not easy work but it gets me up in the morning.” She paused a moment and was about to say something else but Karga gestured towards a building that Din didn’t remember from before. “Wait until you see this,” she smiled and patted Din’s shoulder.

Din trailed behind them and paused when he saw the sight of children sitting at desks set into neat rows. An instructor stood at the front of the class showing a system on a hologram to the class. 

“A school?” Din blinked, perplexed.

“A lot has changed since you’ve left,” Cara boasted proudly, her eyes raking over the children learning. 

Din stiffened as he watched Karga carrying the child over to an empty desk. “What’re you doing?”

“We have some business to discuss, _adult_ business, Mando,” Karga settled the boy into the seat and the child cooed curiously as he looked around in interest. His green ears twitched a bit and his big dark eyes blinked at the other children who seemed just as curious about the newcomer. 

“Where he goes, I go,” Din argued, not liking the idea of leaving the child here.

“Don’t worry, Mando,” Karga waved off the Mandolarian’s concerns as he made his way towards the back of the room where Din and Cara stood. “The school is under constant security. It’s probably the safest place for him. It’ll be fine.” Karga placed a hand on Din’s shoulder and started to guide him from the room. “Plus, some socialization with children his age would do him some good.”

Din wanted to protest and he peered over his shoulder, watching as the child settled in his chair. Finally, he let Karga lead him from the room, already feeling the child’s absence greatly. Cara and Karga led him down the street into another building. There was a tense silence as the other two settled into the room before Din finally broke the silence.

“What is it you needed to talk to me about?” Din asked, glancing at Cara for a moment and then focusing on Karga. He could tell he was about to be asked to do something - - should’ve known. It doesn’t seem like he could ever land on a planet and not be asked to do some dangerous mission.

“Well,” Karga’s eyes moved to Cara for a split second as he drawled on before snapping back to Din. “It might - - no, it would benefit you and the kid too . . .”

“There’s an Imperial base not to far from here,” Cara cut in, rolling her eyes at Karga’s antics. Din always appreciated her straightforward attitude. “It’s the last Imperial stronghold on Nevarro. If we could get it taken out . . . we’d finally be free of them.” 

Din nodded slowly, knowing how much it would help Nevarro to finally be free of the Empire’s clutches but he couldn’t see how that would be of any personal use to him and the kid. “How does that affect me and the kid?” Din questioned and Cara shifted from one foot to the next.

“Well, we’ve managed to hack into their comms and,” Cara let out a breath, lips pulled down into a worried frown. “It doesn’t make much sense but we’ve heard chatter of a prisoner they have there. A _Jedi_ prisoner.”

That made Din pause and he stiffened, “A Jedi? On Nevarro? How long have they been a prisoner?”

Cara shrugged her shoulders, “it’s hard to say . . . we hacked into their comms about a week ago. Something about the prisoner’s blood not being as strong as the kid’s.”

Din thought that over . . . a Jedi? This close? His mind wandered back to the kid and his vow to get him with a member of his kind. If this Jedi was still alive it was Din’s duty to free him so he could help the kid. “If they are holding a Jedi . . . this base has to be pretty well defended, right?”

“That’s the thing,” Cara shook her head, “from initial scouting reports we can hardly see any activity. If it weren’t for the chatter on the comms we would assume the base to be abandoned.”

Something wasn’t adding up. The Empire didn’t hold a Jedi prisoner at a base with minimal security. There had to be something they were missing. An uneasy feeling settled in Din’s gut. Was it a trap set by Gideon? Or was it simply the Empire being too arrogant thinking they could hold a Jedi with minimal security. Either way, Din knew what he had to do.

“Alright,” Din nodded, gesturing for Karga and Cara to come in closer. “This is what we’re going to do . . .”

********

Cal wasn’t sure how long he’d been held here - - wherever _here_ was. He’d woken up stripped of everything but his single layer of clothing and his boots and a pair of thick force suppressing cuffs around his wrists . His heart ached at the thought of BD. His little droid had to be held here . . . at least he hoped. BD had been with him at Naboo where they’d stopped from a supply run. Maybe his little friend had managed to escape . . . but something in him told a different story. BD was in the same compound as him, best case causing mischief and worst case deactivated. 

Imperials loved to deactivate droids they didn’t see any use over.

_Imperials._

Cal shouldn’t have been surprised when he woke up and stormtroopers entered his cell. Because, of course the Empire would live on past the destruction of the Death Star. The Empire, just like any other vermin, never truly seemed to die. As long as there were people to accept the darkness the Empire would still live. 

He thought of his old crew aboard the Mantis. He wondered how they were doing. They’d gone their separate ways a few years ago. Greez and Cere we’re getting too old to travel across the galaxy in search of old Jedi relics. Merrin could’ve continued but it simply wasn’t her path in life. However, it was Cal’s. He and BD-1 found Jedi relics, collecting them to make sure they didn’t fall into the wrong hands. He kept them safe and it was lucky that he hadn’t had any on him when they’d made a stop in Naboo. 

Cal tried to keep in contact with his old crew every few months but it’d been a few weeks since they’d all last spoken to one another. Now he wished he’d have a way to let them know he was in trouble. It was the dangerous side of traveling alone. No one would come to the rescue if something went wrong - - or in this case really wrong. 

The ever constant hum of the force suppressing cuffs made Cal look down. A bitter thought in the back of his mind told him they weren’t even necessary. They’d drawn so much of his blood, leaving him weak and exhausted. When he’s woken up, he mentally prepared himself for torture - - seeing that terrifying electric chair that Cere had been victim to. He’d repeated a mantra in his mind.

_Trust only in the force. The force will guide me. The force is my greatest ally._

Turned out, that all the mental preparation for endless torture hadn’t been needed. In fact, he hadn’t even been taken from his cell. A few times a day - - or at least he figured they were days, telling time was nearly impossible in the small, dark cell - - a group of stormtroopers would come in and draw several vials of his blood.

Cal shuddered to think of what they might be doing with his blood. Experiments, most likely . . . Cal didn’t know what they could accomplish with Jedi blood but he figured the Empire must’ve figured out something. 

Glancing over his shoulder at a cot that hung from the wall, thin and with a small, lumpy pillow and thin blanket, Cal sighed. The bed, as awful as it was, looked heavenly, his body ached from sleeping on the floor for who knew how long but he wasn’t about to try laying on the cot again. The last time he’d been assaulted with images of a child - - one that looked a lot like Master Yoda - - in this same cell on the cot. 

The child had been exhausted and scared. It had been clear that the child was force-sensitive. They’d done what they were doing to Cal over and over again, taking blood and pushing the poor kid to the brink of his limits. He’d felt all of the child’s emotions in an overwhelming wave. It had been a while since he’d been hit that hard by a force echo and in his weakened state it probably wasn’t best for him to try again. 

He only hoped that the kid was alright. 

The door to his cell opened with a quiet hiss and Cal looked up, blinking rapidly at the stream of light that poured in from the hall. He knew he must look like a mess, red hair limp and greasy, skin pale and dark circles under his eyes. He could feel some scruff beginning to come in, so different from his normally clean shaven face. 

Pershing stepped in, flanked by two stormtroopers on either side. Cal thought that the stormtroopers were really unnecessary. He was weak by the daily removal of blood that he wouldn’t pose much of a threat. 

“Cal Kestis,” Pershing smiled a wicked smile and Cal froze. They’d known he was Jedi but not who he was. “We finally managed to get into the memory of your little droid friend.”

That caused Cal’s head to snap up and his body to jerk forward, making the troopers quickly aim their guns at the Jedi. “What did you do to him?” Cal snarled, green eyes narrowing.

Pershing laughed, shaking his head, “your fondness of a simple droid is touching, Jedi, but do not worry. We haven’t harmed the droid . . . not yet anyways. We just managed to access it’s memory and I will say, you two have been on quite a journey together, yes?” Cal’s chest heaved and he swallowed thickly, the blood rushing through his ears. 

The scientist seemed to notice the immediate effect his words had on the Jedi. He cocked his head to the side and took a step closer, “Moff Gideon will have a great interest in all the old Jedi relics you’ve managed to find.” Pershing reached forward, gripping Cal’s jaw tightly in his hand, enough to cause pain to erupt under his fingers and Cal winced. “In fact, Gideon would love to meet the failed Jedi padawan that had a run in with Lord Vader and lived to tell the tale.”

Cal managed to yank his head from Pershing’s grip and the scientist laughed at the small display of defiance. “Time to collect the samples. I do think we’ll need a larger one this time, if it’s all the same to you.”

**********

Cal wasn’t sure how much time had passed since Pershing had taken his last sample. But he still felt weak and so _tired_. His eyes could barely stay open as he slumped against the metal wall behind him. Food had been dropped off but Cal couldn’t even muster up enough energy to even crawl across the room towards the door where the meal had been literally dropped by the stormtrooper. 

He wasn’t sure how he was even still alive, not with how much blood had been removed. After the fifth vial, Cal had tried to struggle free, panic building up that they were taking too much. The struggle hadn’t lasted long before Cal got too dizzy to continue. 

He must’ve blacked out because when his eyes opened he was alone in his cell once more. Was this how he was going to die? Drained of his blood until there was nothing left to give? It seemed a honorless way to go and Cal felt that panic rising in his chest once more.

_Trust only in the force, Padawan. It will not lead you astray. Trust it as a lifeline. A guiding force._

Cal blinked slowly. “Master Tapal?” He squinted slightly and the hazy large form of his late Master materialized by the door. 

“Do not give up, Padawan,” he said, his voice calming the anxiety that tightened his chest. “The galaxy still has need of you yet. Do not lose your faith.”

“Trust in the force,” Cal murmured, his eyes struggling to stay open. The form of his late Master faded from view and he finally let his eyes close. Rest would help him recover some of his strength. 

The soft hum of the doors opening brought Cal out of his light doze and he blinked slowly. Standing in front of him weren't troopers or Pershing. It wasn’t even the hallucinated form of Master Tapal. Standing before him was a Mandalorian in head to toe beskar. The Mandalorian seemed frozen for a moment and Cal couldn’t even come up with a snarky comment about Pershing hiring a Mandalorian to do his dirty work.

The Mandalorian took a step closer and Cal pushed up against the wall behind him. He attempted to use the solid backing as support to get to his feet but his knees trembled with just the effort of moving a few inches.

Raising his hands in the air, the Mandalorian said, “I’m not here to hurt you. We’re going to get you out of here. But, we don’t have much time. The others are about to blow this base.”

Wariness flickered in Cal’s eyes. Was this a trick? Another hallucination, maybe? That didn’t seem likely though since Cal highly doubted he would hallucinate a _Mandalorian_ as his savior. Cere or Merrin, definitely.  
But not a Mandalorian. 

Taking another step, the Mandalorian said, “let me help you out of here. I know you don’t trust me and I don’t blame you. But, right now, I’m your only way out of here.”

Cal finally nodded slowly and the Mandalorian nodded once in return. He crouched down and deactivated the cuff, which fell to the floor with a loud _clang_. Cal rubbed his wrists as he attempted to push to his feet once more, leaning heavily on the wall again. The Mandolarian took a step back to allow him the dignity to try and get up of his own accord. Cal closed his eyes and took a breath in and out, letting himself take a quick moment to feel the force running through him once more. To his surprise, he’d managed to get to his feet but as soon as he took a step forward, his knees buckling but he didn’t fall, the Mandalorian caught him and wrapped one of his arms around his shoulders before they started making their way towards the door.

“Wait, I have to find BD,” Cal murmured, trying to get his feet underneath him instead of dragging against the floor. 

“Who’s BD? Another prisoner?” The Mandalorian asked, easily supporting the weakened Jedi. 

“Uh,” Cal blinked once and his savior stopped, “yeah. He’s my friend and I can’t leave without him.” He also would like to find his saber but he figured that was a lost cause. BD was his first priority and if what the Mandalorian said was true they didn’t have a lot of time.

“How are we supposed to know where they are keeping your friend?” The Mandalorian asked, sounding skeptical as he looked around.

“Give me a moment,” Cal said, closing his eyes once more and he reached out with the force, hoping to be able to sense his droid companion. Within a few seconds, Cal nodded, opening his eyes once more. With a shaky arm, he pointed right, further down the hall from where they were. “He’s down that way. Not far.”

Together, they made their way down and Cal called out, “BD? You here, buddy?”

Only a moment went by before a trill and a beep answered the Jedi and Cal smiled weakly. “I’m coming for you, buddy, hold on.”

The Mandalorian stiffened and asked incredulously, “a _droid_? We’re risking our lives for a droid?”

Cal looked up, frowning, “he’s my friend. Please.”

They continued down the hall until they reached a cell where a small blue and white exploration droid stood on a table with binding cuffs around both it’s legs. Cal smiled at the sight of his friend, “BD!” The droid wiggled and shifted, lights lighting up as it beeped happily. 

“Yeah, I’m fine. We gotta hurry though,” Cal replied and was answered with a few more beeps and Cal let out a surprised grunt. “Really? The Empire is that dumb. Things really haven’t changed.”

“If it's okay with you two, I’m going to cut this conversation short. Running against the clock here,” The Mandalorian set Cal against the wall as he broke open the cell’s weak lock. Luckily the Empire didn’t secure the droid holding cell well. They easily got into the room and Cal took a shaky step towards his droid, not collapsing this time around. After successfully completing one step the next one and the one after that seemed to get easier.

He was still weak but with his connection with the force back he wasn’t completely helpless. BD beeped faster when he saw Cal walk into the cell and Cal grinned. “Hey, I’m glad you’re okay. Let’s get these off you, hmm?” The Jedi grabbed a tool from off the table and unsecured the binders and the little droid jumped up happily before rushing forward to climb up Cal’s arm and settled onto his shoulder. Cal glanced at the table once more and then reached for his saber. He couldn’t believe the Empire had actually kept the weapon right next to his droid. 

“Mando?” Cal’s head snapped when he heard a female’s voice come from the com unit on the Mandalorian. “Do you have him? We gotta get out of here.”

“Yeah, we’re leaving right now,” the Mandalorian confirmed before turning his attention to the Jedi and the droid, “we need to go.”

Cal nodded, settling his saber on his hip before allowing Mando to help him once more. He could walk but he was slow. With the Mandalorian’s help they would be able to get out a lot faster.

**********

The group was able to get back to town without much of an issue, especially as the Empire base exploded from the heat core that Cara and Karga had unleashed. The Jedi had fallen asleep shortly after being safely from the base, the droid seeming to set up watch over his master - - _friend_.

Din had carried the Jedi into the Razor Crest, which had been fully fixed thanks to Karga’s talented crew. He set the redhead down into his personal cot since there wasn’t another bed. 

The child was enamored by the new guest, cooing excitedly as if the man was a new friend. Din tried not to think about how the Jedi would take the kid away and he’d be left alone again. Din had heard the stories - - the Jedi always took the children away to train stating that emotional attachment left them compromised. 

“Let him sleep, kid. He’s had a rough day.” Din said softly, carefully picking the child up as he glanced at the Jedi sleeping. It wasn’t the first time he noticed the scars running across his cheek and over the bridge of his nose. They looked old, long since healed. Din knew that there was a story behind them. 

They said goodbye to Karga and Cara, Din promised to be back but of course none of them knew when that’d be. Cara had nodded sympathetically, knowing that as soon as the Jedi regained his strength he’d take the boy to train. She had given him a reassuring hug before Din turned, a tightness in his throat, and boarded the Razor Crest once more. 

When the ship made it into space, Din set his course and sighed, looking over at the kid. That pressure in his chest returned and the child cooed softly, tilting his head a bit; almost as if he could tell Din was upset. 

“I’ll be alright, kid, don’t worry about me,” Din sighed softly, reaching forward to stroke the back of his finger over the thick clothing covering the child’s chest. Their course had been set and he knew the child must be hungry. “Let’s get you some food, yeah? Must be starving.”

The child cooed excitedly at the mention of food, making Din chuckle as he scooped the boy up. He climbed down to the main area and started getting together some ration packs for himself and the child.

He looked up when he heard footsteps and stiffened at the sight of the Jedi watching him. After a few tense moments, Din nodded once and said, “you’re up. Good.”

Cal blinked a few times before he offered Din a small smile, “yeah, thanks for the rescue by the way.” He shifted from foot to foot uneasily before he added, “I don’t mean to sound ungrateful. But . . . Why?”

Letting out a breath, Din glanced at the child and then back at Cal, “it’s the kid. He . . . he needs to be trained by one of his kind. By a Jedi.”

Cal tilted his head to the side and his green eyes shifted to look at the child. The Jedi took a few steps closer and then paused, eyes widening a bit. “He’s force sensitive. Where did you find him?”

“On Arvala-7,” Din replied simply, watching carefully as Cal closed the remaining distance.

The child looked up at Cal, letting out a curious trill, tilting his head to the side. Cal offered him a reassuring smile before asking, “may I?” He gestured to the boy.

Surprised, yet pleased to be asked permission, Din nodded once and the Jedi carefully picked the boy up. The Mandalorian watched as Cal’s eyes closed and a swirl of blue light danced around Cal’s fingers.

“What’re you doing?” Din hurried forward but stopped. The child let out a coo, completely unharmed.

Cal’s eyes opened and he seemed a bit shaken, “you’ve protected Grogu. Risked your life for him, far surpassing your duties to him.”

“Grogu?” Din asked and the child’s head snapped to look at him. 

Offering another smile, Cal nodded, “it’s his name.” The boy looked up at the Jedi, ears rising and falling as they always did when he was curious.

“Can you read his mind?” Din blinked behind his mask, trying to wrap his head around the Jedi magic. 

Cal let out a small laugh, it wasn’t cruel, more amused, “we understand each other - - and I have psychometry.” When Din didn’t say anything, Cal nodded to himself and continued, “meaning I can sense memories left behind by echoes in the Force. I’ve seen what you’ve done for him, how you risked your life to keep him safe.” BD peeked over Cal’s shoulder and let out a series of beeps and Grogu cooed in response, reaching towards the little droid. 

Swallowing thickly, Din let out a trembling breath and said, “I was doing my duty. I promised to reunite the child with one of his kind. Now I have - - I . . . I can let him go. You will train him?” 

Tilting his head to the side, red hair falling over his forehead, Cal frowned slightly, “I will train him, yes. As best as I can. He’s strong with the Force, stronger than I will ever be but I can try. But . . . you don’t wish to stay with him?”

Din’s heart skipped a beat and there was a pause where Cal just watched him. “We can stay together?”

Eyes softening more with sympathy, Cal nodded and offered a reassuring smile. “I know the Jedi have said that connections lead to emotional compromise. But, I believe that the connections we have with others make us all the stronger. You two are family. You love one another. I couldn’t possibly separate you from him or him from you.” Cal handed Grogu back gently, “as long as you don’t mind BD and I hitching along in your ship, of course.”

Shaking his head quickly, Din gathered Grogu up in his arms as he quickly said, “no - - no, of course not. Thank you, Jedi. Thank you.”

“Cal Kestis,” the red head supplied.

“Thank you, Cal,” Din mended, holding Grogu just that much tighter in his arms. Grogu would get the training he needed while staying with him. 

This was the way


End file.
